If there is one fight that many of us are interested in, it’s the fight against cancer. As it turns out, that fight may have taken a positive turn now that a breakthrough has taken place in Europe.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, with approximately one out of eight women developing it in their lifetime. This clinical trial may have just found a way to get rid of breast cancer once and for all.
Prof. Nigel Bundres, a researcher at the European Breast Cancer conference in Amsterdam showed that they had tested the effectiveness of two drugs, Herceptin and Lapatinib.
These two drugs are already used in breast cancer on a routine basis but this is the first time they had been used together before surgery or chemotherapy. When they use them, they found they were able to eliminate certain types of breast cancer in only 11 days.
The research was funded by Cancer Research UK, and they use those drugs to combat a protein, known as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). This protein affects the division and growth of cancer cells and it’s also more likely to return than other types of cancers.
This treatment is appealing because it eliminates the need for surgery or chemotherapy. The side effects associated with chemotherapy, such as vomiting and hair loss are avoided so it is less stressful for the body. In addition, chemotherapy is not the right choice for every patient and is not entirely effective.
For this study, 257 women with HER2 positive breast cancer were selected. Half were put on the drug combination and the other half were the control group. Of the women who were on the drug, 11% had no cancer cells within two weeks and 17% featured shrunken tumours.
The control group of women received only Herceptin and there was only 0% with no trace of cancer and 3% drop in tumour size. It is clear that the two drugs have a much more positive effect on breast cancer cells.
The problem at the moment is that Herceptin is licensed so it’s only available with chemotherapy and not on its own. This study may change that.
There is still much work to be done but it is hopefully a step in the right direction. Medical advancements continue to improve and this one may just point us in the direction we want to go.
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